In many cultures, babies wait days, months, or, in some cases, years to receive their names. Often, names are given for traits a child has or for traits their parents want them to have. Here are the pseudonyms we have chosen and the traits we want them to represent:

Adam: Earth formed in God’s image. It is our desire to rightly show God’s image to the Great River People.

Ruby: Natural rubies all have imperfections in them. But treatment under high pressure and heat dissolves imperfections, resulting in a clearer, brighter stone. Through the trials we will surely experience, we pray that our characters will be refined.

Amber: This fossilized tree resin sometimes contains small insects or pieces of plants. Amber’s value is based largely on what’s inside it. As the Great River people see the principles of God’s word preserved in our hearts, may they see their value and desire them for themselves.

Pearl: When an abrasive object becomes lodged inside the shell of a clam or other shelled mollusk, the creature secretes layers of calcium carbonate, smoothing and growing the original object to create a beautiful iridescent pearl. We want our lives to be embedded in Jesus, where we will be covered and smoothed with His righteousness.

Alex: Short for Alexandrite, a remarkable gemstone that changes color from red to green, depending on whether it is in natural daylight or incandescent light. This gem illustrates our goal of showing the Great River people the beauty of their Creator in a new light.

Jaden: Long for Jade, a green gemstone whose value is determined by its translucency and intensity of color. We want to be translucent, allowing the light of Jesus to shine through our lives so that when others look at us, they see Him.

Clay: Desiring always to be pliable in the hands of the Master, we have chosen Clay as our family name. “. . . we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand” (Isa. 64:8). —Adam and Ruby Clay

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